Universal foldable frame moulding and process

ABSTRACT

An L-shaped moulding and process for forming a completed frame or protective liner for an art or other object from a single unitary piece which may be decorated, and folded to surround the perimeter and affix at the back.

REFERENCES CITED

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 4,399,625 August 1983 Langan  40/155 4,424,637 January 1984 Leahy  40/152 4,475,296 October 1984 Fremstad  40/152 4,709,495 December 1987 Buckwalter  40/158 R 4,646,914 March 1987 Gipson 206/45.34

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is commonly known that picture frame mouldings are made from woods, metals, or composite materials in predefined colors and finishes, most of which are cut by a framer with specialized equipment such as a miter saw or chopper, into any lengths. Currently there are no alternatives to employing miter saws or choppers to cut these materials into the desired length segments particularly if the required length is non-standard. Once cut to the desired lengths, joining the severed moulding pieces into a frame unit is carried out using specialized vises to hold the individual segments while glues, nails, staples, or other joining devices are applied to the ends in order to hold the frame segments securely together.

There are designs using extruded thermoplastic resin based moulding to create picture frames such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,625 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,637 but they are limited in scope by their requirement for predefined depths, widths, lengths or other attribute, in these cases the art assembly thickness must be less than that of the C-shaped or U-shaped channel openings of these mouldings.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,914 created a need for a cover to protect the micro-thin seals and to allow the hermetically sealed enclosures to be deployed in a wider range of decorative moulding designs particularly shallow wood mouldings.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to the framing of pictures or other objects having common or unusual sizes and shapes using an L-shaped moulding.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Therefore an object of this invention is to provide a moulding that does not require it to be severed into length or width segments thereby avoiding the need to rejoin the individual segments back into a frame unit, a further object of this invention is to provide a moulding that will accommodate assemblies or objects having variable lengths, widths, depths, and angles that may form a completed picture frame structure or protective cover or liner by anyone, with or without prior picture framing knowledge or picture frame joining equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is comprised of a continuous moulding that may be folded to construct a completed picture frame.

In use, the moulding face and side may be trimmed or mitered to allow the side to be bent or folded to any angle. The leading and trailing ends may overlap on the sides of the assembly to achieve join, and the appearance of a unified assembly. The base moulding can be made of from a variety of materials and the surface may be decorated, painted, or colorized to meet any artistic design objectives. This moulding may be trimmed, cut, or mitered at the side along the ruts or grooves which provide a means of forming straight line bends or folds from the side to the back of the assembly and lay parallel to the back surface of an assembly. Holes may be made in the moulding prior to adhering in order to attach a wire for hanging purposes or an easel backing may be inserted prior to adhering for tabletop displays. In the present embodiments the moulding is employed to surround the perimeter of a typical art assembly having a depth of less than 1 inch and is well within the rabbet height of the moulding. In situations where the art assembly exceeds the rabbet height of the moulding such as when creating shadowboxes, a second piece of this moulding may be employed starting at the rear of the assembly and joined to the front moulding at the sides of the assembly by overlapping joins.

The moulding face may be trimmed or cut off completely and the side of the moulding may be used as extension material to surround and cover an assembly wider than the combined depth of two pieces of this invention. The thickness of an assembly often exceeds the rabbet height of a chosen moulding design. In such cases this invention would be employed as a liner for the moulding and protect any part of the assembly protruding beyond the height of the frame rabbet and a second piece of this invention would be attached from the rear of the said protruding assembly and folded in a Z-shape to provide a method of securing the assembly to the wood frame moulding using adhesive or other device such as staples or screws and attaching a hanging device to the wood moulding.

This invention may be completely removed from an assembly by gently prying it apart starting at a corner and slowly working along an edge. Once removed the art objects may be exchanged and the assembly may be reassembled.

BRIEF SUMMERY OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

It must be noted here that the drawings and embodiments that follow are one of many possible embodiments and use applications for the present invention.

FIG. 1 Side view of continuous moulding prior to assembly;

FIG. 2 Cutaway bottom view of continuous moulding folded around framing assembly;

FIG. 3 Front face view of FIG. 2

FIG. 4 Rear isometric view of FIG. 3

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the L-shaped continuous moulding 11 which may be trimmed or cut at any location. 11 may be made from a variety of materials with flexible transparent extrude thermoplastic being one embodiment. A side view of the front face 11 a.

An array of ruts or grooves on one side is shown by 11 b through 11 c facilitate straight line bends or folds by causing weakened areas in moulding 11 and may be painted or otherwise decorated and secured in place which may be in the form of double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive type or other means at any location along a surface to adhere to itself and any other surface. 12 shows a fold point for this embodiment. Rabbet area 13 receives an assortment of assembly or sub-assembly types, depths, and sizes to be to be covered and protected by 11.

FIG. 2 Bottom cutaway view of continuous moulding outlined in FIG. 1 folded around the perimeter an assembly. 21 shows a cutaway view of moulding 11. A side view of the front face 21 a. Bend or fold in rut or groove area shown between 11 b through 11 c after bending and folding at a chosen weak point in moulding 21. Glazing 26, optional spacer 27 as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,475,296 or 4,709,495 available in various depths and materials may be deployed on both sides of the glazing, one or more optional window mat board with beveled opening 28, mat board backing that supports the art object 29, and cardboard or other final backing material 20 serving as a structural member and dust cover, combine to comprise a typical art assembly for this embodiment but is not limited to this number of objects or thickness of the assembly.

FIG. 3 Front face view of FIG. 2 shows the moulding face 31 a as opaque with the top and right faces of the moulding removed. 34 shows the face view of a 90 degree bend 22 which is accomplished by trimming 31 a to a 90 degree miter from the vertex at 32 and removing the material between the miter trims yet allow the moulding to remain continuous. Glazing 36 is invisible from this view, window mat board with beveled opening 38, spacer 37, and mat board backing that supports art object 39.

FIG. 4 Rear isometric view of FIG. 3 shows back of framed assembly having 2 sides of moulding 11 removed. 41 shows trailing edge back section of 11 after bending or folding at 42 and miter trimmed at 44 with material removed. 42 shows 90 degree bends or folds at 22 or 32 located at the rear surface edge of 40. 44 shows 4, 45 degree miter trims of 41 from the vertexes at 42 with material removed between the miter trims and allow the moulding to remain continuous. Inside surface of 41 shown at 45, edges of glazing 46, spacer 47, window mat board 38, mat board backing 39, and final cardboard backing can be seen from this view. 

1. A reusable L-shaped frame moulding having ruts or grooves along the side.
 2. A foldable moulding to complete a unitary frame around the perimeter of an assembly which may include but not limited to glazing, spacers, art objects, boards, and backing materials. 